Today marks our third day here in Deutschland. My ears are popping through every tunnel we pass through, and my mouth is dry, but we are auf dem Weg nach Ravensburg and I am excited to see Familie Leyrer again . Scott ist neben mir, and I remind him often how lucky he is to have me. He’d be lost without me. We almost missed our train in Darmstadt, because Scott insisted that we eat a little something before our Fahrt. Fortunately, the train was also a little late. Maybe the conductor’s brother held him up too.

We were playing the card game I invented for the past half hour or so. Scott didn’t win a single round. I’d normally be proud, but then again, I invented the game. It’s a good game. It’s like Mah Jong, played with cards. But cooler. And auch travel-friendly. To be fair, Scott helped with some of the rules. So, I guess I can be a lIttle proud of my wins.

We just passed Stuttgart. It makes me think of Andrew. I’m sad that we’ve lost touch over the years. He was my right-hand man here in Germany. I visited him and his host family in Gomaringen the last time I was here. Familie Schreiner haben sie geheißt. They needed a tuba for an upcoming concert and asked if I would be willing to come. I said, of course. Traveling by train, my borrowed E-flat tuba strapped to my back, I felt so profi. During the concert, the emcee presented me with a beautiful umbrella with a view of Gomaringen printed darauf. I felt like they were giving me the keys to the city. Unfortunately, I lost the umbrella, but that’s another great story for another time. And of all places to have lost it, I lost it in Ulm, our next destination.

We’re twenty minutes away, and that story was taking me a lot longer than expected to tell. It probably has something to do with Scott talking about parallel universes and sharing his uninteresting insights with me, but I’ve made fun of him enough already, so I won’t say that. But now, he’s much quieter, soaking in the scene as we pass by. It’s beautiful here, and I’m glad he’s enjoying it.

Scott just asked me if we were going to pass this way again auf unserem Weg nach Berlin. I said, nein. He said, damn, I wanted to sleep…